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break is also heavily impacted already by surf schools and development would crowd out our local
<br />surf community. And that’s important to us. That’s also a cultural site, the surf break is a cultural
<br />site; it goes back hundreds, perhaps a thousand, years. In addition, and perhaps the most
<br />important, is the impact that the increased timeshare development will have on our Hawai‘i
<br />County lifeguards. Recently, when I contacted a friend of mine who is a lifeguard at Kahalu‘u, he
<br />said he was working through his lunch breaks because there were no lifeguards available to give
<br />him a break. On the same day, because of lack of staffing, another lifeguard was responding to a
<br />spinal injury at Magic Sands by himself because he was the only lifeguard on duty, which is
<br />dangerous for him and for all the other beachgoers. This is a regular occurrence for our lifeguards.
<br />County Parks cannot afford the burden of hundreds of more beachgoers from this development.
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<br />The background research about endangered species is also grossly inadequate. The FEA states
<br />that, “some native forest birds could utilize or fly over the project site, but it’s unlikely that
<br />threatened or endangered species would find it suitable habitat or be affected by activities on the
<br />project site. The two Hawaiian raptors, the Hawaiian hawk, or ‘io, and the Hawaiian owl, or pueo,
<br />may make some use of the area. Although the Hawaiian hawk is an endangered species, the
<br />subject property is not considered to be part of its essential habitat. No hawk nests were observed,
<br />and the small stature trees are not the type utilized by hawks.” This is not correct. There are trees
<br />within that property that are over 60 feet high, and I can tell you, I live at the same elevation as
<br />this project area, and any tree that’s over rooftop height is a great place for ‘io-s to use and they do
<br />use it. And pueo-s as well. So, that’s not good science. It’s not, not well done. And given the
<br />contract biologist’s methods in other cases of endangered species, and I mentioned this in the last
<br />testimony I gave that their survey for bats, the endangered ‘ōpe‘ape‘a, took place in the daytime,
<br />which is not when they are active. That is the problem. And I also, I’m friends with some of the
<br />Kahulamū family, and they see bats there all the time, so don’t tell me they are not there. They are
<br />there. And also, Simmy has taken pictures of ‘io and pueo from her backyard, looking directly
<br />into the project area. They are there. And if this scientist found that they weren’t going to be
<br />using this area, that’s incorrect. There is also, the FEA also mentions that water quality will not be
<br />affected by erosion or sediment runoff because it’s on the mauka side of the road; if anyone is
<br />familiar with the Hokuli‘a case, we all know that sediment runoff is a big problem, and you can’t
<br />just say because it’s on the mauka side of Ali‘i Drive, that it’s not going to have an impact on the
<br />reef or the water quality. It also mentions that all the animals that are makai of the project area
<br />that could be affected by increased salinity are marine animals, and that they won’t be affected, if
<br />the salinity increases. This is also grossly inadequate and incorrect. There is also, the ponds at
<br />Kahalu‘u are supposed to be an anchialine pool, as are the other ponds in the area. That means
<br />they are brackish water. That means they are fresh and saltwater, and increases in salinity
<br />drastically affects them. So, there is a lot of problems with the background research that has been
<br />done for this project.
<br />
<br />So, thank you very much for your time. This is not a good idea for this area. Mahalo.
<br />
<br />KAREN GOLD: Aloha. I came here today not really planning to speak, but I just wanted to add
<br />my voice. My husband and I moved to Kona three years ago, and we live in Palisades, mauka of
<br />here. We moved here because my husband lived in Hawai‘i about 25 years ago in the early 90’s,
<br />and he had to go back to the mainland, but he had always planned to come here when he retired.
<br />So we were fortunate enough to move here three years ago. When I heard that there was a project
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<br />2017-05-15 Public Testimony on SMA 16-063 Contested Case
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